


Second Date

by pi_meson



Series: Dating [1]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Dating, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-13
Updated: 2015-03-03
Packaged: 2018-03-12 06:14:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3346562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pi_meson/pseuds/pi_meson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cecil and Carlos go on their second date. It does not go to plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Thursday

**Author's Note:**

  * For [psychosomatic86](https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychosomatic86/gifts), [Umbreon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Umbreon/gifts).



> Happy birthday!
> 
> Prompt: bad date

Cecil waited opposite the restaurant, looking this way and that, shuffling from his left foot to his right and back again. There was still no sign of the scientist with the perfect hair and the strong jaw and teeth like a military cemetery. He walked the few yards to the corner, looked along the next street but Carlos was not there yet. Cecil checked his phone. Carlos told him before that time was not real in Night Vale, but that did not excuse such lateness. He returned to their agreed meeting place, leaned against the wall and stuck his hands in his pockets. The queue outside the restaurant lengthened as time passed, much longer and they would sell out of his favourite brisket and even pulled pork would be doubtful if Carlos didn’t show up soon. Cecil crossed the street, got in line and texted. 

_I’m across the street from where we said we’d meet, in line for the restaurant. See you soon?_

The queue shuffled slowly forward towards the main door of the best barbecue joint in town. Half an hour later, when Cecil was almost at the front, Carlos arrived flustered and breathing heavily.  
“I was beginning to think I’d been stood up.”  
“I am so sorry, Cecil, there was this thing at the lab and nobody knew what it was but it was really scientifically interesting and I had to study it. I got so wrapped up in science that I forgot the time. I got your text and ran straight here.” Carlos checked his watch. “Oh! I’m only an hour late.”  
Cecil reddened. "Huh. How late are you usually?”  
The scientist shrugged. “I don’t keep track. Time isn’t real so this instant is no different to the instant we perceive as having been an hour ago. Scientifically speaking there is no such thing as on time or late.”  
“Hmm. Well you’re here now and you’ve missed the standing in line part of the _Extended Hog_ experience. I hope they have something left. This place slow roasts everything in their special marinade and when they run out they just close the doors. I bet we’ve missed the pulled pork.”  
Carlos frowned for a second. “Oh? Is there a menu?”  
They entered through the swing doors. Cecil pointed above the counter. “There’s a chalkboard menu there. You decide what you want, ask at the counter and they bring it to your table.” 

Carlos studied the menu and sighed. Cecil gave him a breakdown. “The chicken is nice, the pulled pork… oh forget that they’ve just erased it so there is none left, there’s brisket. That’s my favourite, and the sides are on the list by the till. Usually I have the bacon beans or the pork and kale.” Carlos sighed again, louder.  
“Cecil, did I mention that I’m vegetarian?”  
“Oh? No, I thought you ordered mushrooms last time because you were short of cash. That’s what I did. They might have something suitable if you ask.” 

Cecil ordered first, brisket and beans, and waited while Carlos ordered.  
“Do you have anything vegetarian?”  
The waitress stared at him. “You know this is Night Vale’s premier barbecue joint, right?”  
“Yes, do you have anything that is not meat?”  
“Um… JO, WE GOT A VEGETARIAN WHADDA WE GOT?”  
A head peered around the door behind the waitress at the counter.  
“Oh hon, you could order the salad. It doesn’t have _much_ meat in it.” 

Carlos looked at his tray in dismay. Cecil started on his brisket and beans.  
“Oh good, you got something. That looks healthy.”  
“Cecil, they gave me iceberg lettuce. Just lettuce. I can’t even have the fries here.”  
“I’m sorry Carlos, want some of my beans? I can’t find any bacon bits so they must be almost vegetarian.”  
“No, Cecil, that’s really not the point. Ugh. I can’t have anything that has had meat ingredients.”  
“But it’s really good. Sure you don’t want some?”  
Carlos growled _nothankyou_ and crunched lettuce. 

Cecil tapped the table. “So-o-o, you were studying a thing?”  
“Yes, scientifically that is what I was doing. Because I am a scientist and I study things.”  
“Tell me about it?”  
“It was really interesting. Rochelle, one of my scientists, found a patch of desert that seems not to match the surroundings. The sand is different and the rocks and nothing will grow there. She called me so I went out and brought back samples of the sand and rocks from the area and mapped out their original locations and we spent hours studying them, their composition and their physical properties. The pink sand and the beige sand are quite different… Cecil are you even listening?”  
Cecil stretched his arms and rubbed his neck. “What? Of course I am listening! I am really into science.”  
“I’m sorry I can’t make my job sound as interesting as yours. Being a local radio celebrity must be fun. I bet you get recognised all the time.”  
Cecil looked around at the other occupants of the bustling restaurant, all busy with their own affairs. “Uh, sometimes. But I am a radio host, no-one actually knows what I look like.”  
“Oh? You look… uh… you are a good example of the face of radio.”  
“What?” Cecil frowned.  
“I mean you look nice. Kinda average I guess. Not too—“  
“Okay I get it! Thanks. Thank you so much.”  
“Did I say something wrong? Rochelle says I do that, like, a _lot_. I mean you look... Ah forget it. I don't know how to say what I mean. I was trying to convey something nice.” 

Cecil wiped his fingers and his face and they left the restaurant. Outside, Carlos smiled, took Cecil's hand and Cecil forgave him.  
“Where now, Cecil?”  
“There is a pretty decent bar near the radio station. They do food, fries and snacks mostly.”  
“That sounds nice.”  
They walked to the bar. Cecil attempted smalltalk.  
“So-o-o, where are you from?”  
Carlos shrugged. “I moved around.”  
“Have you always been a scientist?”  
“As long as I can remember.”  
“Do you have family?”  
“Not around here.”  
“You’re not a talker, are you?”  
“I never know the right thing to say.”  
Cecil stopped asking questions. They reached the bar in tight silence. Carlos held the door for Cecil and they went inside. Almost straight away Cecil tried to walk backwards, stood on Carlos's foot and groaned. “Oh no. No. Not tonight.”  
A voice boomed out from the corner. “Cecil! Hey, Cecil! Yoo-hoo, Over here!”  
Cecil turned to Carlos, red-faced and scowling. “I’m sorry, we have to go somewhere else.”  
“But we just got here, Cecil, and your friend is calling you over. Can I meet him?”  
“HE’S NOT MY FRIEND,” then barely audible through gritted teeth, “He’s my brother-in-law.” Behind Cecil, a man approached and clapped a hand on his shoulder. Cecil jumped a little and stiffened.  
“Cecil, it's good to see you buddy! Who’s your friend?”  
Carlos reached past Cecil and stuck his hand out. “Hello, my name is Carlos and I am a scientist.”  
The stranger shook Carlos’s hand. “I’m Steve. Cecil is sorta my brother. We don’t see each other much. Come join us?” Steve nodded to a table with two other people sitting watching them.  
Carlos took Cecil’s arm and opened his mouth to say yes just as Cecil snapped, “No, thank you Steve. We don’t want to sit with you and your half-drunk sports-fan friends. Carlos?”  
Carlos shrugged at Steve. “Okay Cecil, we can go somewhere else if you want.” 

Back in the evening air, Carlos frowned.  
“You were really rude to your brother, Cecil.”  
“Brother-in-law. He’s a total _jerk.”_  
“Oh. Instead of going to a bar I want to go back to my lab.”  
Cecil’s voice trembled and raised a little. He clenched his fists in his pockets. “You want to end our date?”  
“What? No, I meant for you to come with me if you want. I have some food left over from lunch and there’s wine and we can hang out for a while.”  
Cecil smiled at Carlos, eyebrows up and heart-rate rising. “You’re inviting me back to your place? On our second date?”  
Carlos frowned. “Only because I have not eaten since one o’clock and I know I have food at home.”  
Cecil turned away, shoulders dropping. “Huh. Maybe I should just go home.” 

Carlos stopped and grabbed Cecil’s arm.  
“Ah that’s not what I want at all. Cecil, will you come back with me and help me finish a bottle of wine that Dave got me as a gift? You are under no obligation to do anything other than drink a couple of glasses of cheap wine and keep me company.”  
“In your lab?”  
“Yes, it is the space I occupy. I live there. I have a bedsit. The lab break area is my kitchen.”  
“Okay, let’s go to your lab. Will you tell me more about science?”  
Carlos shrugged and grinned. “Probably.”  
Cecil looked into Carlos’s eyes. “I am very into science, you know. Even if science is a little weird at times and nothing like I expected.” 

Carlos took Cecil’s hand and led him to his lab. He unlocked the door, held it open and turned to lock it again behind them. “Security, you know. We have so much expensive, fragile stuff here.”  
A crash made Carlos spin round to witness Cecil standing with his hands over his mouth and a look of absolute horror on his face.  
“Cecil what the fu—“  
“I’m so sorry! Carlos, I walked past and caught it with my arm, it slid off the bench onto the floor. It was an accident! Oh no, is it ruined? Was it really expensive?” Cecil crouched down to pick it up.  
“Leave it, Cecil, go sit down.” Carlos pointed. “I’ll clear this up later. Yes, it is probably inoperable now and it was quite expensive. You just broke the colorimeter.”  
Cecil trudged over to the break area and sat down with his head in his hands. “Carlos, this is a terrible date. I think I should go home before anything else goes wrong.” 

Carlos sat opposite Cecil. “I agree that this is a terrible date but I would like for you to stay for a while. Although it is possible that the evening _could_ get worse, I think it is statistically unlikely. Please don’t go home yet. That would make this the worst date ever.”  
Cecil smiled. “Okay. Perhaps wine is a good idea.”  
Carlos got up and brought back a bottle from the fridge and two glass beakers. He poured exactly to the 250ml line in each beaker and handed one to Cecil. Cecil sat back and sipped. Carlos brought hummus and crackers on his second trip.  
“I’m sorry about your machine. What was it for?”  
“It used to measure the intensity of each wavelength of light transmitted by a sample. It’s Rochelle’s. Probably best if she never finds out exactly what happened to it.”  
“Are you mad at me for breaking it?”  
“I would not leave you here unsupervised.” 

They sat quietly, drinking, eating and avoiding eye contact. Carlos got up to put on some music and Cecil relaxed a little. He leaned back and closed his eyes. Carlos smiled, pulled his plastic chair over beside Cecil's, stroked Cecil's cheek and kissed him once.  
"Mmhmmhmm, the evening is improving." Cecil smiled and touched Carlos's perfect hair but the scientist pulled away, sat up alert.  
"I think I can hear... oh you have got to be kidding."  
The lab door opened and two scientists staggered through it.  
"Hi Carlos! Thought you were out tonight with that radio presenter you've been obsessing over. Date not go as well as you hoped?"  
"Ooh Carlos, did you fuck up? Bet you talked about rocks. Did you talk about rocks all night? Oh! Hello, I'm Dave, that's Rochelle. You must be Cecil. Were you _very_ bored when he told you all about the sand he found? Carlos, we can't go back to Ro's because her landlord objected to the experiment she keeps in the microwave and threw her out and we can't go to mine because I had an accident with the water cylinder after we decided to try out something we saw on _Mythbusters._ Didn't think you'd be home tonight and there's nowhere else to go." 

Carlos’s forehead hit the table with a dull thud just as Rochelle yelled, “What’s my colorimeter doing on the floor! Dammit, Carlos, did you do this?”  
Carlos looked up and saw Cecil’s face redden. Carlos shook his head and nudged Cecil’s ankle. “Sorry Ro, I accidentally used it to rediscover Newton's law of gravitation. It was a very successful demonstration. I’ll order you a new one instead of my spectrometer.” Carlos caught Cecil’s eyes and inclined his head towards the door. They got up and Cecil followed Carlos out. In the street in front of the lab, they stood facing each other, silent and carefully studying things on the ground or over each other's shoulders.  
“Uh Cecil—“  
“Y’know, Carlos—“  
“You go first.”  
“Cecil, although I said that statistically this evening was unlikely to get any worse, I think it might. We are faced with a choice from three terrible alternatives. Either I impose on you and ask to stay over at your place when it is way too early in our relationship, you go home and I stay to look after my colleagues, or you stay longer and get interrogated by scientists who may be under the influence of ethanol. This is not how I wanted our second date to go at all. I imagined something quite different to the way things turned out.”  
Cecil sighed. “So did I. I think I should go home. Alone.”  
Carlos nodded. “Call me when you get there?”  
“Checking up that I’m safe?”  
“Yes. This is a very dangerous place. Goodnight, Cecil.”  
“Okay. Goodnight. Umm…”  
Carlos moved to hug Cecil as Cecil offered to shake hands. Carlos changed position, sticking out his right hand as Cecil offered a hug, accidentally poking Cecil in the stomach. They stepped back from each other.  
“Carlos, I think it would be safest if I just go now. I’ll call.” 

Carlos went back inside after watching Cecil walk away. Cecil turned at the street corner to wave but only saw the door swing shut. Carlos swore quietly and joined his colleagues.  
“You can have my floor. I will look for a proper apartment for myself tomorrow then you two can have the bedsit if you want. I thought I was angry with you both but you brought an early end to the worst date of my life so far. I have no idea how many more things could have gone wrong. Is there any wine left?” Rochelle refilled Carlos’s beaker. He carried it up to his bedsit and sat down to think of what to say to Cecil. If he called. 

Carlos answered his phone on the second ring.  
“Carlos, it’s Cecil. I am calling to let you know that I got home with only minor injuries.”  
“Hi Cecil. I am happy that you called. I’m sorry about—“  
“Please, it was hardly all your fault. I forgot what day it was, we should never have arranged a date on a Thursday.”  
“Why does the day matter? That’s deranged! Oh! Cecil, I have no idea why I am snapping at you.”  
“Mmm. Thursday. Bad night for dates, night for bad dates. Look, can we pretend that tonight didn't happen? Maybe forget it? You said it wasn’t what you imagined for our second date. What did you have in mind?”  
Carlos smiled. “Why don’t I show you tomorrow?” 


	2. Second second date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlos promised Cecil a better date. Can he deliver?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Needed fluff. That's all.

Carlos waited outside the radio station. Cecil's show had finished twenty minutes earlier, Carlos had listened on his car radio, gently banging his forehead on the steering wheel as Cecil casually mentioned on air some of the events Carlos dearly wished to forget. Eventually Cecil emerged and approached the car. Carlos got out and held the passenger door open. Cecil got in, almost sitting on the object already on the seat. He picked it up and frowned slightly.

Carlos sighed. "Too much? I asked Ro, she said it was corny but cute. Dave just made retching noises. I wasn't sure if you'd like it but I am a scientist. I like finding stuff out and the only way to find out was--"  
Cecil smiled. "It's lovely. Thank you." He held the single long-stemmed rose carefully.  
"They didn't have red ones. Just lilac or white or black... Anyway I thought that one matched your eyes. Umm, may I?" Carlos motioned to take the rose and pointed at Cecil's lapel. Cecil shook his head.  
"Shame to spoil it, I want to take it home and put it in water. Can we stop off at my place so I can do that?"  
Carlos smiled and nodded. "Sure, give me directions?"

Carlos pulled up by the curb, killed the engine but made no move to get out of the car. Cecil looked at the rose.  
"Umm, would you like to come in? I need to change. Or you can wait here if you want. I won't be long." Cecil watched Carlos's face as he stared straight ahead. "It's okay, I filed the date redaction and reapplication papers first thing so this is still only second date. I can offer you coffee and you are allowed to come up while I get changed as long as I keep my bedroom door closed and you are happy to sit in the living room with... uh... coffee. And maybe surreptitiously examine my CD collection."  
"I should probably wait here."  
"Is that what you would normally do on a second date?"  
"I, umm, don't know. I have not had many second dates."  
"Oh? Oh! Okay. I won't be long."

Cecil walked to his building, calmly let himself in then ran full-pelt upstairs to his apartment. He stuck the rose in a glass of water, raised a silent prayer of thanks to the glowcloud that he had tidied up that morning, just in case, so the kitchen wasn't as bad as usual and there were probably no dirty dishes under the sofa. He changed quickly into his second-favourite tunic and furry pants, pulled on sandals that showed his bronze-lacquered toenails, combed his hair, checked his armpits and headed back down to Carlos.

He smiled at Carlos's reaction. Carlos stared openly as he got out of the car to hold the door for Cecil again.  
"You look... umm... nice."  
"Thank you." Cecil sat down, fiddling with his seatbelt to hide his grin at Carlos's blush. "So, Carlos, are you taking me somewhere nice?"  
"I thought it was a bit late for dinner, you probably ate before your show. We could go get ice cream at White Sands and walk through the park in the dark? Not to do science this time, unless you want to. Maybe sit on the benches and just talk for a while."  
"I'd like that. What science would you do, if I said I wanted to do science?"  
Cecil sat back as Carlos talked, listening to the sudden confidence and delightfully infectious enthusiasm in his voice.

Twenty minutes later Cecil and Carlos walked through the park entrance carrying ice creams and smiling.  
"What did you get, Carlos?"  
"I got the special. It tastes like bananas and..." he took a bite, making Cecil wince at the imagined pain of cold ice cream on those perfect teeth, "...curry? Yeah, banana coconut curry. Want some?"  
Carlos held out his ice cream. Cecil scooped some up onto a finger and licked it. "Mmm. Nice. Mine's chili tomato." Cecil held his out to Carlos, twisting round slightly. Carlos smiled and froze, eyes drawn to the deep slit in the front of Cecil's second favourite tunic that revealed a strip of smooth coppery skin.  
"Carlos? Are you okay?"  
The scientist brought his eyes back up to Cecil’s face. “Uh, yes I’m fine. I was admiring your… tunic. That is what I was doing. I, um, like the… design.”  
Cecil turned away slightly and smiled, the fabric falling flat once more. They strolled through the park, side by side, occasionally bumping elbows and apologizing.

“Want to sit for a while?”  
“That would be neat.” Cecil cringed slightly but Carlos laughed.  
“I like the way you say things. Here…” Carlos sat on a bench and patted the wooden slats next to him. Cecil accepted the invitation and sat beside Carlos. Cecil swiveled round, tucked a foot up under himself and rested his elbow on the back of the bench. He studied Carlos’s profile.  
“So-o-o… you said you have not had many second dates? I find that hard to believe. I mean, I’m not calling you a _liar_ but you’re… well, you’re…” Cecil waved a hand at Carlos. “You.”  
Carlos frowned a little and stared straight ahead.  
“I stopped dating at all. I think I bore people. I talk about my work, like, so _much_ and I forget to make conversation. Will you warn me if I do that to you? Before you decide not to see me again?”  
“Carlos! I _love_ to listen to you talking about your work.” Cecil lowered his voice a little, just enough to make Carlos shiver. “I’m _really_ into science these days.”  
Carlos risked a glance at Cecil’s face. He was not laughing or smirking or rolling his eyes. He smiled, giving Carlos confidence to ask, “so how did you get into broadcasting?”  
Cecil chatted about working in radio. Carlos replied by explaining how Heinrich Hertz discovered that radio waves travelled from a spark gap to a detector, thereby confirming Maxwell’s theory of electromagnetic waves.

Carlos smiled as he lectured Cecil. Cecil watched Carlos relax and move as he spoke and gradually let the elbow resting on the back of their bench extend until his hand was an inch from the back of Carlos’s neck. Cecil flexed his fingers so they brushed against Carlos’s hair. Carlos stopped mid-sentence and turned to look at Cecil properly. Cecil held his breath and held his hand still.  
“You can do that if you want.”  
“What?”  
“Touch my hair. If you want to. It feels nice when you do that. Um, makes my skin tingle. I like it. Is that allowed on a second date?”  
Cecil shrugged and stroked his fingers through Carlos’s curls more boldly. Carlos smiled and closed his eyes for a few seconds. Cecil elaborated.  
“Hmm, second date. We may engineer opportunities to touch accidentally in a nervous manner, hold hands deliberately as long as we remain in a public place, I applied for a licence to—“  
Carlos wrapped both hands around Cecil’s head, leaned in and kissed him. This time Cecil closed his eyes and kissed back.  
“Yeah. That. I got a licence to kiss you in a public place on condition —“  
“Cecil, what does this licence say about kissing you in a private place?”  
Cecil pulled back, eyes wide open, hand over his mouth.  
“Oh! Um, that’s maybe a little fast for me, Carlos. I don’t know what you’re used to but—“  
Carlos frowned then blushed and put both hands over his face, shaking his head.  
”No! I meant can I invite you back to the lab! Not can I, umm, you know, ugh, have I messed up?”  
Cecil failed to suppress a giggle. He stroked Carlos’s hair again and Carlos laughed too.  
“I think your lab actually counts as a public place, kind of. Will your colleagues be there?”  
Carlos shook his head and grinned. “No. I sent them to get some overnight air samples and radiation readings from the sand wastes. They will have to camp out all night.”  
Cecil smiled and stood up, reached a hand out to Carlos. “In that case I would like to visit your lab. I promise not to break anything this time.” 

They walked to the car hand in hand and Carlos drove them to the lab. Once inside, Cecil looked around and laughed. Everything breakable was bubble-wrapped or hidden. Carlos smiled. “I hoped you would agree to come back. Are you hungry? I made supper. It’s only snacks really. We could eat and if you like we could watch a movie, unless you think it’s too late.” Carlos started to fidget and frown. ”Ah, time isn’t real but it is subjectively pretty late, isn’t it? Are you tired? Uh, if you want me to take you home I can —”  
Cecil silenced him with a hand on his arm. “Carlos! You are so thoughtful. I want to stay and watch a movie with you.”  
Carlos smiled again. “Great! You can choose the movie. Through here.” Carlos led Cecil through the fire door at the back of the lab break area and up a set of stairs to a room above the lab. The room was clean and tidy, furnished with a large futon folded into a sofa against one wall, a set of drawers, a wardrobe and a TV on a stand. Carlos flicked the TV remote and handed it to Cecil. “There are a few DVDs in the cabinet under the TV. I’ll bring the food up.”  
Cecil stood in Carlos’s lair, closed his eyes and breathed until he was calm. He resisted the impulse to open Carlos’s wardrobe and lose himself in the scent. Cecil turned his attention to the TV stand. Underneath he found a small collection of movies and TV shows. He weighed up the relative merits of the meagre selection, decided it didn’t matter much and stuck his hand out at random to pick one. Carlos returned with a lab tray containing dips and a bottle of wine.  
"Good choice! I love _Cosmos._ Put on chapter eight, it's about space and time. I brought... oh. I didn't think this through. Cecil, would you please close your eyes for a moment?"

Cecil shrugged and closed his eyes. He heard Carlos set down the tray, creak open a door to his left, swear quietly, then a swishing, rustling, thumping noise. He opened his eyes and laughed. Carlos looked round. "Ugh, sorry. Most of this stuff just lives on the floor. I though I would try to tidy up and crammed it all in the closet but it is escaping. I had to find this." Carlos held up a packet.  
"Okay, one, leave the stuff on the floor, it's fine. Two," Cecil's voice dropped to a hiss, " _where did you get breadsticks!"_  
"I know they're illegal now and I hid them. But I thought you'd like to share them with me? I am not trying to get you into any trouble."  
Cecil took the packet from Carlos, opened it, removed one skinny breadstick and ate it dry. "You have _no idea_ how much I miss bread! Carlos, this is the best date ever!"  
Carlos grinned. "Really? That makes me happy! Last night was--"  
"Redacted. Never happened."  
"I didn't really have time to plan much for tonight. Work happened, then I cleaned up and came to collect you. I am sorry there was just ice cream instead of some fancy restaurant, and I took you for a walk instead of actually going anywhere and we're here in my messy room that feels like a student dive, consuming illegal substances. I don't understand why you say this is the best date ever."  
Cecil smiled, poured wine into glass beakers and sat on the futon. "Sit here. Mmm. It is a great date because I'm with you and nothing has happened to spoil it."  
Carlos sat and put an arm around Cecil's shoulders. "Ha. Give me time." He pressed a button on the remote and orchestral music played the introduction to one of his heroes talking about his favourite subject. 

Carlos wasn't sure when Cecil fell asleep but he noticed his companion's limp limbs and steady breathing as the end credits played. He clicked the TV off and sat perfectly still for a minute, frowning slightly. His face relaxed and he smiled. Carlos tightened his grip on Cecil's shoulders for a moment, indulged himself in one more glimpse of skin under the tunic and kissed the top of Cecil's head. There was no response. Carlos tried shaking Cecil gently, making Cecil groan quietly and snuggle closer. On the third attempt, Cecil started awake and looked around in confusion before settling back into Carlos's arms.

"Oh! Carlos I'm sorry. I am more tired than I thought. I should go home. It is real late now."  
"Oh. Okay. I will call you a cab, I probably shouldn't drive after drinking wine. Or, um, maybe."  
"Or-um-maybe?"  
"If it's not too fast for you, you could stay. To sleep. I would like you to stay over and I can drive you home in the morning. I can lend you something to sleep in."  
Cecil smiled.  
"Like, your bed? See? Best second date ever."


End file.
